1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a medical valve assembly for receiving a fluid from a needleless syringe.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Needleless syringes are used in the medical field to deliver fluids to a patient without the risk of an accidental needle poke on either the patient or the person treating the patient. Needleless syringes generally include a luer for delivering the fluid to a medical valve and threads for threadedly engaging the medical valve. Various medical valves have been developed to engage the needleless syringes and deliver the fluid to an IV line of a patient. One such medical valve is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,956, issued to Pavel T. Miller on Nov. 25, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as “Miller '956”). The Miller '956 valve includes a housing; a receiver; and a valve stem presenting passageway and a stem slit for opening to receive the luer of the needleless syringe. The valve stem has an outer wall including a notch, which creates a gap between the internal wall of the housing and the outer wall of the valve stem. In operation, the luer of the needleless syringe is inserted into the stem slit of the valve stem and the valve stem buckles outwardly into the gap at the notch to provide room for the luer to penetrate into the passageway of the valve stem. This buckling movement of the valve stem changes the volume of the passageway and requires wasted space to allow for the valve stem to buckle outwardly.
When connected to an indwelling catheter, such medical valves provide a direct pathway for the infusion of fluids and medications into the vascular system of the patient. However this open pathway can also lead to the serious patient complications, if left unattended. It is a common practice to infuse fluids and medications by hanging a saline bag on an IV pole and permitting the gravity flow of fluid into the patient through an IV tube connected to the medical valve. If the attending staff are not vigilant, air can also enter the patient after all fluid has been infused. The resulting air embolism can cause significant patient morbidity or death. This can be prevented by placing a one way valve, or a check valve, between the needle free adapter and the IV tubing; however, this solution may be costly, a suitable check valve may not be available, and the additional connections and disconnections can be a source of contamination. Furthermore, check valves generally prevent the aspiration of blood for sampling to assess the patient's condition, thus requiring a separate valve for this process.
There remains a continuing need for improved medical valves for receiving needleless syringes.